Neufeld, Johann A., 1869-1950

Person

Neufeld, Johann A., 1869-1950

1869-1950

Johann Neufeld was born in 1869 in Heuboden, Bergthal Colony in Russia. In 1875 he immigrated with his parents to Manitoba. In July of 1890, Johann married and Maria Kroeker (1870- ) in the village of Reinland, Manitoba. They had eleven children: Jacob (Jun. 15, 1891 – Nov. 1972), Maria (Dec. 11, 1892), Johann (Aug. 4, 1894 – Aug. 14 1894), Margaretha Feb. 26, 1897), Johann (Feb. 17, 1899 – Oct. 4, 1901), Johann (March 5, 1902), Helena (Sept. 18, 1904), Cornelius (Jan. 28. 1907 – May 1937), Anna (Apr. 14, 1909 – Feb. 18, 1919), and Klaas (June 13, 1913).
During and after WWI, many of the Mennonite settlers in Manitoba became increasingly worried about the education reforms and the pro-British-Empire policies of the provincial government. From 1922 to 1930, many of these settlers migrated to Mexico and Paraguay. In late 1926, being in their late 50s, Johann and Maria Neufeld joined the migration to Paraguay, where they helped establish Menno Colony in the Chaco of Paraguay. Three of their children, the oldest two and the youngest, decided to go with them. Jacob, married to Gertruda Wiebe, and Maria, married to Abram Bergen, at that point had children themselves. Klaas, later Nick, the youngest of the siblings, moved to Paraguay as teenagers. In Paraguay, Nick married Maria Harder in September of 1937. In the early 1960s they moved to Bolivia. In 1972, “Uncle Nick” and his family with nine children moved back to Canada. Johann Neufeld passed away in January of 1950 in the village of Bergthal, Menno Colony, Paraguay. Only a few months later, his wife Maria passed away in September of the same year. Since Johann and Maria Neufeld and three of their children went to Paraguay, writing letters was the only mean of communication between them and their children and siblings that stayed in Canada. Letters were the only way in those days to communicate family news like births, hardships, diseases, and death.

GRANDMA ID: 186549

Neufeld, Nicholas, 1913-1996 (1913-1996)

Neufeld, Helena (Neufeld), 1904-1997 (1904-1997)

Neufeld, Johann B., 1902-1975 (1902-1975)

Neufeld, Maria (Kroeker), 1870-1950 (1870-1950)

CA-MHA-2016-2734

Created by ER June 15, 2016, updated by CDS Feb 17, 2022.